Kila’s Comments (group member since May 12, 2017)

Kila’s comments from the Return of the Rogue Readers group.

Ryan, the ending I hoped for was one where the bastards paid severely for the way they treated women. And I don't just mean the handmaids. Every single woman in the book - wives, Marthas, the Jezebels, etc - was simply there to meet the needs of men. It was absolutely infuriating to read. Speaking of Jezebels, how disgustingly hypocritical was that?! A hotel filled with prostitutes that the leaders could visit and women can't even meet the eyes of men walking down the streets. Complete bullshit.

When I was reading the book, I kept saying to my husband, "There is just no way this could actually happen." And he would talk me through all the ways this COULD actually happen. We have a President who changes world policy via offhanded tweet, so I guess anything is possible.

I'm not saying Trump could or would do this - I think he lacks the religious fanaticism illustrated in the novel - but it does feel like a crazy world we live in.

I don't want this to devolve into a political discussion, but those are my two cents on why it feels more relevant than ever.

I loved it.

I was also watching the show at the same time, so I have thoughts on both. The book was short and concise and there were times I would have liked more story or background on more characters.

One concern I had before reading the book was about whether it would feel dated, even though it was written in 1985. It didn't feel at all dated to me and, in fact, felt more relevant than ever.

I would love to know how you guys felt about the ending. It certainly wasn't the ending I hoped for - which is where everything is tied up in a nice pretty bow - but I thought it was a creative way to close the novel. The epilogue certainly answered some questions, but didn't provide every answer I was looking for.

What did you guys think?

I finished Handmaid's Tale last night. Did we set a date for when the discussion will start? It was SO GOOD!

Let's do Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood!

It's always interesting to me to hear from people who feel so differently than I do. So I'm interested in your take on Bill Cunningham, Ryan. I would argue that he's an absolutely terrible person! Recording people illegally and without their knowledge and grandstanding about his boss's death when he had been fired the week before. He was despicable in my opinion.

I would also argue that Maggie wasn't anywhere close to infidelity. She was friendly with Scott and when she went to his home to see his paintings, she took her children. I think she was just a nice, generous woman who was trying to help an acquaintance by offering him a ride on the plane.

Two characters we haven't discussed but that are also interesting to me are the aunt and her husband. I have a five year old son, so I can't imagine how difficult it would be to handle a little boy dealing with the crash and the death of his entire family. The aunt (I can't remember her name for the life of me!) handled it well and I was glad to see her kick her loser husband to the curb.

I really thought it would be tied to the money laundering. Maybe a terrorist attack. When that mechanic said something to Ben Kipling before he got on the plane - "enjoy the ride" or "rough night for a flight" or something like that - I thought for sure that's how it was going to end.

Bill Cunningham was absolutely vile and I really wanted him to get more of a comeuppance in the end. And he really didn't, other than Scott walking off of his show. That was disappointing.

I loved it! I was hooked from the first sentence and blitzed through it. I felt like the author did a great job with the character development, but the ending surprised me. I felt like the pilot storyline kind of came out of nowhere. I look forward to hearing everyone else's thoughts!

Thanks! I'm excited to be here!